


as long as we're home

by atemzug



Category: CLC (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Meddling Friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21987886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atemzug/pseuds/atemzug
Summary: Yeeun has a list of things she found during her time in university. At the bottom of the list is someone at the top of her heart.
Relationships: Chong Ting Yan | Elkie/Jang Yeeun, Jang Yeeun & Everyone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 49





	as long as we're home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tide_ms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tide_ms/gifts).



> written for aml secret santa! **[i removed it from the collection to take it off anon]**  
>  dearest recipient, i hope the holidays treated you with much warmth and kindness ♡ happy new year, too! i hope this fic at least makes you smile at the start of this new decade ♡

College has always been an exciting idea to Yeeun. She’s always been eager to go to uni, to experience new things and meet new people, to learn more about the world and life and what it has to offer a simple girl like her.

Today marks _three years_ into college, her last. So far, here's a list of what she found:

1\. An environment which served as an opening to newer, fresher thoughts and ideas that make life more exciting and worthwhile.

2\. Classmates turned into friends who always keep her company and help her during trying times while they all struggle to meet deadlines with empty stomachs and barely any sleep.

3\. Some new experiences and firsts - like living on her own, or paragliding, or going to Hong Kong, or suddenly finding out she can see _and_ talk to ghosts. 

4\. The apartment she now calls home, where she’s been spending the past three or so years together with her then-roommate, whom she’s grown attached to even more. 

5\. Five, unexpected housemates, forcing her to confess to her crush of three years ( _for_ three years now, too).

6\. And Chong Ting Yan, or Elkie, as she likes to be called.

Come to think of it, Elkie should’ve been on top of the list. She's the first ever friend Yeeun has ever made in college, the first roommate-turned-housemate, and the first significant thing in those three years she spent in university. But Yeeun has a tendency to procrastinate, just as any other college student might, and putting Elkie on top of the list would mean she _has_ to do something about what she feels for her friend.

That would be the last thing she'd ever want to do. Especially now that they're cuddled up in Elkie's bed, warm and cozy while they could hear the loud pattering of raindrops and thunder outside. Yeeun would never in her life want to ruin this moment. It's so precious, just like every moment she's ever shared with Elkie. She cringes inwardly at the thought. She's in too deep, she thinks, if she considers even staying up all night doing requirements with Elkie _precious_.

One way or another, Yeeun knows she's going to have to tell Elkie how she feels. It's just that the opportunity never seems to show itself up, she reasons. Or maybe the opportunity does show itself - _has_ shown itself quite a lot of times by now - and it's really just Yeeun who's too scared to ruin anything. Every time she feels like she wants to tell Elkie she really likes her, she gets tongue tied, and doubt takes the best of her. Who would want to ruin their friendship with someone who's important to them, anyway? Not Yeeun.

Still, there's a part of her that wants to believe that nothing will be ruined if she tells Elkie how she feels. Instead of ruining their friendship, it can lead to something more. That's a thought Yeeun knows is dangerous to entertain, but at times like this, too - cuddled up in bed, sharing warmth on a cold night, watching some foreign animated film they found online - Yeeun can't help but wish the way Elkie laces their fingers together meant something more.

 _Gosh darn,_ why do feelings have to be so complicated?

"You okay?" Elkie asks suddenly, looking up at Yeeun from where her head is resting on her lap. 

"Hm?" Yeeun replies, shaking her head a little. "Of course."

"Are you tired?"

"A little."

"You don't have to watch this with me," Elkie tells her, brows furrowed in worry. "If you want to sleep, it's alright."

Yeeun smiles. Elkie has always been thoughtful, and it makes Yeeun feel awfully fond of her. "No, it's okay--"

_Crash._

"What's that?" Elkie asks, sitting up, suddenly alert.

"What do you mean?" Yeeun replies, trying to act innocent. 

"I heard something. Didn't you?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"Really?"

"Yes," Yeeun replies hurriedly. "Anyway, I was gonna say I'm gonna make some hot cocoa. Would you like some too?" 

"Oh." Elkie brightens up, seemingly forgetting about whatever she heard. "Sure."

"Alright. I'll be back."

"Should I pause this?"

"No, it's okay. You go watch."

"Okay."

As soon as Yeeun closes the door to Elkie's bedroom and makes her way to the small kitchen, she sees all five of their _other housemates_ there (and a frying pan on the floor, which explains the noise).

"Guys," Yeeun says, annoyed, and they all shift their attention towards her. "I told you not to scare Elkie."

"It was Eunbin," Yujin answers immediately, pointing towards the youngest yet tallest one. 

"Eunbin--" 

"You know," Sorn interrupts, looking bored. "I really don't get why the two of you aren't dating yet."

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you just tell her?" Eunbin asks innocently, her round eyes shining as Yeeun stops what she's doing to look at her.

"It's not that easy," she replies, a little defensive and more than a little frustrated. "I can't _just tell her._ " 

"Why?" It's Yujin who asks this time. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"Yeah," Sorn agrees. "It _shouldn't_ be. You're just making it hard."

"Hey, don't pressure her," Seungyeon scolds them. 

Sorn rolls her eyes. "That's why you never got to tell Yujin you liked her," she retorts. 

"Shut up," says Seungyeon, and Sorn does stop talking.

"She didn't need to, anyway," Yujin adds, clinging onto Seungyeon's arm.

"Oh." Eunbin hovers closer to Yeeun. "Maybe you don't need to, either?" 

"I--" Yeeun starts, but Seunghee finally interrupts. 

"Everyone, shut up," she orders. Yeeun usually listens to Seunghee and Seungyeon, because Seunghee is the eldest and Seungyeon brings herself with authority. Everyone else listens to them, too, and at the command, everyone also stops speaking. "Yeah, that's better."

"Thanks," mumbles Yeeun as she resumes making her hot cocoa. 

Then, "If Yeeun wants to go another three years secretly pining for Elkie, then let her be."

Yeeun almost spills the drink.

"Maybe she already did, though," Seungyeon suggests. "And somehow we just didn't find out."

"Yeah, actually," Yujin agrees, nodding. "Remember that time we thought Seunghee and Sorn weren't dating yet but we saw them making out in the living room?"

"Hey!" Sorn slaps her arm. For a ghost, she seems really strong. Maybe she used to work out when she was alive. "What does that have to do with any of this?"

"Alright." Seunghee clears her throat. "I'll be off now. Good luck to you, Yeeun. Just think about it." And then she disappears into thin air.

"Me, too," Sorn adds, disappearing without waiting for a reply. 

"Us, too, I guess," Seungyeon says, and together, she and Yujin disappear as well.

Yeeun sighs. "You, too?" she asks Eunbin with a tired smile.

"Yeah," she answers. "Sorry about the pan, I didn't mean to drop it."

"It's okay."

"You know, I really, honestly don't get why you can't just tell her."

"It's a little complicated, Eunbin."

"When I was alive, I had a best friend, too."

"I'm sure you did."

"One day I just told him I liked him," she says with a shrug. "He told me he liked me back."

Yeeun stares at her, trying to see through her innocent eyes (not literally). "You're _not_ joking?"

Eunbin smiles at her. "It was easy, Yeeun." And then she, too, disappears into thin air, leaving Yeeun alone with her thoughts and two mugs of hot cocoa.

Yeeun closes her eyes and lets out another sigh.

The problem with their five other housemates is this: Only Yeeun can see them, but they can see _everything._ By everything, Yeeun literally means everything. From the way she steals glances at Elkie, to the way she adds more marshmallows on Elkie's hot cocoa, to the way she holds herself back everytime she feels like confessing. And it's hard because Yeeun knows they don't mean any harm, but at times their constant nagging only leaves her feeling heavier than necessary, and then they all just disappear on her before she can say anything back. 

What's great about Elkie is this: she never disappears, has never once not been there when Yeeun needed someone to talk to, and she's sure Elkie will never not be there for her even in the future. Maybe the fact that Yeeun is so sure about Elkie always being there should already tell so many things, and she's just too scared to believe it, because doing so subjects her to more pain if her assumption ends up not being true after all and one day Elkie suddenly disappears into thin air, just like the rest of her housemates.

But she's back in Elkie's room, back in bed where they're cuddled up, sipping on their hot cocoa, sharing warmth in the midst of the storm that is Yeeun's feelings. And Elkie is here, she's real, and she's warm. She makes Yeeun feel comfortable, secure, and at ease.

Elkie feels like a warm blanket in the middle of a cold night, or like a cold breeze on a hot summer day.

Elkie feels like home.

And maybe that's all Yeeun needs to be sure of at the moment.

Elkie's going nowhere. It’s clear by the way she laces their fingers together. And if Yeeun's not yet ready to tell her how she feels, then that should be okay, as long as she's home.

They watch the film for a while, sipping quietly on their drinks. It’s not until the film they were watching ends that Elkie breaks the silence.

“Hey, Yeeun,” she says quietly.

“Hm?” Yeeun hums in reply. “Do you wanna watch something else?”

“Thanks.”

“Huh?”

“Thanks,” Elkie repeats. “For being home.”

Yeeun furrows her brows at her. “Where else would I be when there’s a storm outside, Elkie?” she asks, confused. She hears several people click their tongues.

Elkie just smiles at her in return, though.

Just as Yeeun was about to choose another film to watch, she feels a soft pair of lips on her cheek. She almost jumps in surprise. “What--?”

But Elkie’s already gotten up from bed, holding both their mugs in her hands. “I’m gonna put these out,” she says with a sweet smile. “You choose the movie.” 

“Okay,” Yeeun chokes out. Warmth creeps up her face, and she prays to god it doesn’t show.

What just happened?

  
  
  
  
  


(“How did it go?” Seunghee asks as soon as Elkie steps into the kitchen, placing the mugs in the sink.

“Yeah, how did it go?” Yujin butts in.

“She’s smiling,” Seungyeon notes. “I’m sure it went well.”

Elkie shrugs, but she really can’t help the smile that forces its way on her face. “Kind of,” she answers.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sorn questions.

“Did she tell you she likes you?” Eunbin asks excitedly, her round eyes shining.

“Or did _you_ tell her you like her?” Sorn adds.

“Not really,” Elkie replies. “But I don’t think that matters anymore.”

They all look at her with furrowed brows, confused, waiting for an explanation they won’t be getting anytime soon.

“I gotta go,” she tells them. “Yeeun’s waiting.”

Honestly, even Elkie’s not sure of what just happened, either. All she’s sure of is that Yeeun makes her feel comfortable, secure, and at ease. And if she can be sure of nothing else in the world but only one thing, it’s that Yeeun feels like home.)

  
  
  
  
  


(“ _Shhh,_ ” Seunghee shushes the others. “They’re asleep.”

“They’re cuddling,” Sorn points out.

“Cuddling can be platonic,” Eunbin notes.

“That doesn’t look platonic to me,” Yujin chimes in.

“Nothing looks platonic to you,” Seungyeon retorts.

"They never looked platonic, anyway," says Seunghee. And maybe she's always been right.)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/crashingfalling)


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